HYPER FX Review – A Hot, Sloppy Mess

Sometimes the secret to a successful workout all boils down to one simple concept: Pushing yourself.

HYPER FX is a PWO designed to boost that elusive mindset, where you’re feeling so motivated and intense, that you can push your physical boundaries to increase your reps and endurance.

Made by BSN, which is no stranger to PWOs, HYPER FX takes an “ultra-concentrated” energy and focus strategy — in theory, resulting in a power-packed powder scoop.

But will HYPER FX live up to its potential? Let’s check it out.

About HYPER FX

You may already know BSN’s other PWO, N.O.-Xplode. Well, HYPER FX is also a PWO, but it’s advertised with a different angle: BSN says it sheds the muscle-building and muscle-performance nutrients, instead focusing its PWO activity on energy, focus and endurance. Because it is highly concentrated and targeted, HYPER FX is supposed to “amplify” these PWO benefits. Formula notes:

Proprietary Blends. There are so many ingredients in HYPER FX, but most dosages are hidden in prop blends that make no sense. BOO!

Directions For Hyper FX: As a dietary supplement, mix 1 level scoop with 3 oz to 6 oz of water and drink immediately on an empty stomach 30-45 minutes before training. If desired, use a second level scoop at least 4 hours after using the first level scoop. DO NOT take more than 2 level scoops in 1 day.

For a “streamlined” formula, HYPER FX sure has a lot of ingredients. 26 of them, to be exact.

There is such a thing as multitasking, but it’s only called that if you actually accomplish everything you set out to do.

HYPER FX is one of those PWOs that likes to multitask but ends up accomplishing half, at most. Let’s take a closer look at their formula, and you’ll see what we mean.

Vitamins and Minerals ::yawn::

HYPER FX has a total of 10 vitamins and minerals. It’s nice to contribute towards daily nutritional intake goals, but we doubt HYPER FX’s blend of these basics is going to deliver workout energy or focus. The dosages aren’t that high in general, and the 2 we’d get excited about — vitamins B6 and B12 — are presented in lesser forms (P-5-P B6 and Methylcobalamin B12 are the best).

That said, the Zinc Gluconate is encouraging; it is a quality form of an important nutritional testosterone booster, in addition to being the manliest mineral there is… and many men don’t get enough. Same goes for Magnesium in this formula.

And so, these basic vitamins and minerals in HYPER FX will help your nutritional status, but don’t generate much sizzle. Let’s get to the main events…

Endura Fusion, 6 g

This is their energy blend, we think. It apparently comes in with three premium branded ingredients: BetaPower and HYDROCARN, and Carnosyn… but here’s where the “hot mess” confusion begins.

BetaPower

This is a premium, easy-to-absorb brand of natural betaine derived from sugar beet molasses and processed to 99% purity. As a PWO, betaine is used to promote peak physical performance, endurance, strength and power; it has been shown to support energy during training, as well as increasing reps across a variety of exercises. This seems like a good ingredient for HYPER FX, but it’s a little weird that it ventures into muscle-performance territory, which is not the advertised focus of the formula.

HYDROCARN & CarnoSyn

Things get a lot weirder with HYDROCARN and CarnoSyn, which are branded forms of the same PWO nutrient: Beta Alanine.

Let’s start with HYDROCARN. Rumor on the web says it’s the successor to CarnoSyn because it is up to 3X easier for the body to absorb. It’s made by a company called Integrity Nutraceuticals, but when you try to visit their website… it does not exist. Further, we found that Integrity Nutraceuticals was the target of a patent infrigement lawsuit related to Beta Alanine back in 2012.

CarnoSyn is a bioavailable, time-release form of Beta Alanine made by a company called NAI — which is the very same company that sued the makers of HYDROCARN.

Regardless, Beta Alanine is one of the best PWOs you can take, working by increasing carnosine levels in muscles to enhance fast-twitch performance and protect muscle fibers.

Label Drama: CarnoSyn vs. HYDROCARN

Although it’s a great PWO ingredient, we really don’t understand what’s going on with the Beta Alanine in HYPER FX. It looks like this on the label:

“Beta-Alanine HCl (using CarnoSyn®) (HYDROCARN™)”

So apparently, HYPER FX is supplying 2 forms of the same nutrient, one of those forms has sued the other one, and manufacturer targeted in the lawsuit now has no website. What is this, a freakin’ soap opera?

Our theory: Maybe HYDROCARN was put out of business by the lawsuit, and CarnoSyn’s manufacturers is allowing HYPER FX to use old HYDROCARN in their formula, as long as they use CarnoSyn, too?

Though it’s pure conjecture, we think this scenario makes sense… but it’s not exactly a strong vote of confidence in the HYPER FX formula. We prefer our PWOs without confusion, drama, lawsuits, and potentially stale, discontinued ingredients, thank you very much.

The rest of this blend is unremarkable save for Taurine, which may work well with HYPER FX’s caffeine to stimulate enhanced physical and mental performance. But again, we have a nutrient that’s already in BSN’s N.O. Explode… so it’s not a complement, it’s redundant. The Sodium Bicarbonate helps hydration, while Malic acid enhances mineral absorption, ho-hum.

Thermic Matrix

“Thermic” suggests that this blend is related to heat, thermogenesis, or fat burning.

Uhhhhhh, but HYPER FX’s Thermic Matrix is NOT designed for that.

The first 2 ingredients are Choline and L-Tyrosine, both of which are nootropic brain boosters that HYPER FX presents in weaker forms (Citicoline and N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine are better forms for the brain, see our Big List of Nootropics for more on that).

Now the Caffeineis a fat burner, our #2-ranked fat burner, in fact. It makes sense in a “thermic” context, and also boosts alertness, consistent with the “focus” intent of HYPER FX.

Also, we give credit to HYPER FX for sharing the caffeine dose separately, even though it’s in a blend: There’s 200 mg of caffeine per serving here.

Finally, AstraGin is a premium, patented blend of Astragalus and Ginseng that helps your body absorb all the stuff they put in HYPER FX, especially L-Arginine. It may have some energizing properties, too.

Shock Composite

Shock Composite? OK, based on the name, we have no idea what this blend is intended for. Maybe nutritional support for administering The Shocker?

The biggest ingredient is L-Arginine, a great PWO that boosts NO production for better muscle circulation, muscle energy and pumps. That’s fine, but the AAKG form of L-Arginine is more effective as a PWO. Looks like HYPER FX cheeses out a bit on their arginine source.

Everything else in “Shock Composite” appears to be nootropic in nature. All of the B-vitamins are lumped into this blend; a couple of them will benefit neurotransmitter status.

DMAE and DL-Phenylalanine are both good picks for focus and attention benefits. There’s a little Huperzine-A in there too, which is an OK brain booster, but mostly shows benefits for elderly populations.

Red Flag: Ingredient Discrepancies

BSN’s website copy says that HYPER FX supplies CARN+™ and PEAK ATP…. but the supplement facts on that very same page do not show either of those ingredients. HYPER FX’s formula is so damn sloppy and haphazard, it seems that even the manufacturer can’t keep track of what’s in it.

Formula Analysis

HYPER FX is a hot, sloppy mess.

The blends-within-blends that comprise the formula as a whole do NOT make sense. For example, the “Thermic” matrix is not for thermogenics. Both Thermic and Shock supply nootropics, as well as jumbled up energy compounds.

The whole point of blends within blends is that each should target a specific PWO pathway. In HYPER FX, these blends look like they are slapped together randomly.

Making matters worse, they hide their dosages. We can’t accurately review their mix this way, so we’ll have to do some guesswork on potency.

Anyway, the Endura Fusion blend seems to be their best blend here. It offers two (possibly three?) premium forms of Betaine and Beta Alanine right off the bat, and they’re great PWO compounds for strength, endurance, exercise performance, energy metabolism and intensity. Endura Fusion makes up 3/4 of HYPER FX, increasing its likelihood of these ingredients hitting beneficial dosages you can feel.

Their Thermic Matrix leads off with at least 200 mg of Choline and L-Tyrosine each. There’s nothing “thermic” about these compounds… they’re for brain health! It’s too bad HYPER FX uses lesser forms of these nootropics, but the dosage they use is at least decent (though we’re guessing).

Thermic Matrix’s caffeine takes the blend into the realm of “thermogenesis” as advertised, but it’s 3rd priority, which is puzzling. Astragin is a well-regarded PWO ingredient, but it’s mostly for nutrient absorption, and has nothing to do with “thermic” fat burning.

HYPER FX’s weakest blend would be Shock Composite. It leads off with L-Arginine — which is a good PWO, but consider the whole blend is 900 mg. That means HYPER-FX’s L-Arginine MUST be dosed on the low-end, and is likely ineffective… especially since there are 9 other nutrients taking up valuable mg. in the 900 mg blend.

We like Shock Composite’s DMAE in the #2 slot; it is helpful for focus and concentration at lower doses, so we believe it works in the blend.

DL-Phenylalanine is good for focus too, but with standalone supplements typically supplying 500 mg, how can Shock Composite possibly supply enough? Answer: It can’t.

Hup-A and B-Vitamins support the brain in lower doses, and there may be enough here… but none of them is going to help workout intensity; they’re more for long-term brain health.

HYPER FX seems to throw a lot of PWO nutrients — including many good ones — against the wall, hoping some will stick.

We believe some of them will stick, but it’s more due to dumb luck than skillful formulation. It’s a haphazard, poorly-constructed stack.

But what’s really confusing to us is that HYPER FX is just not what it’s advertised to be.

BSN says it’s a streamlined formula for workout focus and energy. But it’s just not! It’s not even close. It’s 26 ingredients! Not streamlined. And many of those ingredients are classic muscle circulation & muscle performance compounds… which don’t fit the intent of HYPER FX.

As we said, a hot, sloppy mess.

HYPER FX Benefits

HYPER FX will deliver some energy and alertness thanks to its caffeine and DMAE. Since it supplies adequate doses (probably) of betaine and beta alanine in premium forms, we think HYPER FX will offer benefits for muscle strength, muscle circulation, increasing reps, and endurance. But although its advertised as a “streamlined” formula, HYPER FX is in fact really scattered all over the map… lowering the ceiling of any potential PWO benefits.

Who Takes It?

Bros who want to lift more. According to BSN, HYPER FX is made for serious athletes seeking amplified levels of energy and focus. They say the formula benefits match up well with long cardiovascular exercise sessions and more intense workouts. It’s just too bad that the actual HYPER FX formula doesn’t seem designed to realize these advertised goals.

Any Side Effects?

Aside from the hotness, jitters, and tingling sensation associated with some of its ingredients, HYPER FX doesn’t seem to pose any harmful side effects if taken within the recommended serving of two scoops a day. Note the product warning, however — taking too much HYPER FX at the wrong times might put you in risky — or at least uncomfortable — territory.